Paul Adams. Photo / John Borren
Paul Adams is not one to gloat.
So it comes as no surprise that when he found out he would be inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame this year, he didn’t want a fuss.
“It was unexpected,” he said.
The 74-year-old is one of seven laureates the Young Enterprise Trust has announced will be inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame on August 10.
They are property developer and businessman Ted Manson, ex-Telecom chief Theresa Gattung, former Auckland Business Chamber boss Michael Barnett, Ngāi Tahu tourism leader Wally Stone, dairy pioneer Kingi Smiler and Underwater World founder the late Kelly Tarlton.
The New Zealand Business Hall of Fame recognises and celebrates individuals who have made a significant contribution to the economic and social development of the country.
Each laureate has a story of enterprise, hard work, and success, as well as having generously contributed to their communities. The awards also seek to hold them as role models for young entrepreneurs.
If it was up to Adams, he would have rather not been in the spotlight. He is not one to seek publicity for his business success or philanthropy but acknowledges the Hall of Fame is a “huge honour” nonetheless.
He said it actually provided some “positive news” after a difficult year battling with his health.
Adams was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the beginning of 2022 and has been undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
He doesn’t want sympathy and instead states the facts.
Since growing up in a state house, Adams has become a successful property developer and commercial investor but has continued to give generously to charity.
A civil engineer, Adams’ company Carrus has been involved in creating residential land subdivisions in Wellington, Palmerston North, Taupō, Rotorua, Hamilton, Auckland and Tauranga. That includes the Lakes subdivision in Tauranga, which consists of about 2000 homes.
He has developed about 10,000 residential, commercial, and industrial lots over the past 40 years.
He was a founding director of Priority One and a trustee and councillor of the University of Waikato and a director of several Crown entities and many private companies.
A Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors, Adams gives working time to the not-for-profit sector and is a well-known philanthropist. He has donated several residential lots to charitable organisations over the years.
That included the IHC Endeavour Foundation - a home in Tauranga for residents with intellectual disabilities - Waipuna Hospice, Habitat for Humanity, as well as accommodation for homeless people in Tauranga CBD Whare for Whanau.
He is the patron of Waipuna Hospice Tauranga and Te Tuinga Whanau Support Trust for the homeless, and IHC Bay of Plenty.
In 2019, Adams was made a knight in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for his services to philanthropy and the community. He was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit also for business and philanthropy in 2015.
Despite his knighthood, Adams doesn’t like being called “Sir”.
“It’s just Paul,” he will say.
Adams sums up what it takes to be a good businessman in two simple words: “Hard work”.
“Success never comes easy.”
He takes an “old-fashioned” approach to business and says building trusting relationships takes time but is worth it in the end.
He says to always look at a business deal from the other party’s point of view and leave something in it for the other person.
But it is his work in philanthropy that makes Adams tick these days. He loves to lend a hand to those who need it.
“I get a lot of enjoyment out of it,” he said.
Adams, who grew up in a state house in the Hutt Valley in the 1950s and early 1960s, said his desire to help others needing a hand up is due to his “meagre upbringing” with a mother who had to work to pay the rent and put food on the table “as there were no Govt handouts or benefits in those days”.
Young Enterprise NZ chief executive Terry Shubkin said an independent panel selected individuals who have made a significant contribution to business and therefore the economic prosperity of New Zealand as well as a significant contribution to their communities.
“They are more than just businesspeople, they are also good community citizens. Sir Paul is an example of both those things.”
Shubkin said about 200 people had been inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame since it launched in 1994.
“Once you have been inducted, you are considered a laureate for life,” she said.
“Sir Paul is definitely deserving of this recognition no matter how modest he is.”